1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a color image formation apparatus which enables multicolor reproduction of image originals, and more particularly to a color image formation apparatus which enables the faithful multicolor reproduction of image originals in any desired combination of colors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Color copying apparatus based on the electrophotographic system have heretofore been proposed and put into practice to produce color copies of image originals. Some of these apparatuses have had the functions of performing the full color reproduction, namely, forming electrostatic latent images comprising separated color images--red (R), green (G) and blue (B)--of an image original and developing these latent images by the use of color developers, namely, cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y), to realize three-color reproduction, and the function of developing the electrostatic latent images corresponding to the image original by the use of respective ones of the color developers to achieve respective color reproductions.
However, the materials to be copied by the office copiers often include typewritten originals bearing red underlines or red entries and there has been a great demand for the simplified reproduction of such originals, whereas the conventional copiers have involved the full color reproducing process in achieving black reproduction of such originals and if used to copy such originals, these copiers have been seriously time-consuming and costly.
There has also been much desire for apparatuses which cannot only achieve faithful color reproduction of originals but also can be simply operated by average users to enable image originals having any color components to be copied in any desired color, whereas the conventional apparatuses have had no such versatility.